Wanted (1967) Poster

(1967)

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7/10
Not Quite "Spaghetti" Euro Western
Steve_Nyland22 January 2006
In spite of what my fellow commenter states this is a fabulous Euro Western film by visionary director Giorgio Ferroni, who endows what might be an otherwise routine Oater about organized cattle rustling into a unique genre pastiche. Giuliano Gemma is well suited to the role of the lawman wrongly fingered for a crime he didn't commit seeking justice south of the border amongst the heavily made up extra actors who look about as authentic as Mexican peasants as the Little Rascals would.

What makes the film work is Ferroni's visual prowess, combining sound stage footage with location work (some of which looks like Yugoslavia or maybe France) and a profound grasp of how to use color to make visual compositions that just happen to represent a cowboy movie. This one isn't quite a "Spaghetti Western", with a plot-heavy story rather than the usual posturing and exaggerated artiness of a Leone or Corbucci film. There are very few closeups of people's shoes, and the action sequences are more or less straightforward. The movie existed on the page before being visually realized.

And for that reason I find it interesting; there is a surrealist bent going on here creating realities that are more "real" than a John Ford movie. What the movie may be lacking in terms of authenticity or visual flair is more than compensated for by a deliberate sense of composition. The movie looks like a storyboarded cartoon or graphic novel rather than a sprawling, dusty film epic, and the attention to character & set detail is refreshing. Here is a movie that fretted over the way every frame would look in a very painterly manner that will delight hardcore fans of the genre, but with restrained enough violence to recommend this for viewers of all ages. And how often can you say that about a Spaghetti Western?

7/10
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6/10
Okay Italian Western
FightingWesterner28 June 2014
After proving himself quite resourceful during an attempted robbery of a gold shipment, newly appointed sheriff Giuliano Gemma finds himself framed for murder by ruthless cattle-rustlers that want someone a little more friendly in his place. Escaping jail, he fights the rustlers and the new sheriff to clear his name.

Wanted is pretty straight-forward and unpretentious and star Gemma is one of the great spaghetti western stars. There's also some good pulp-western atmosphere, with none of the silly humor and gimmicks that seemed to take over the genre in the years following this one's release.

On the other hand, there really isn't anything new here this time around and although it's decent enough entertainment, it's ultimately not very memorable.
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6/10
Decent and thrilling Spaghetti about a local sheriff unjustly accused of killing who attempts to prove his innocence
ma-cortes5 August 2016
This is a good S.W. plenty of action , shootouts , thrills and fist-play . Maccarroni Western starred by habitual actors , such as Giuliano Gemma , German Cobos and Teresa Gimpera . It deals with a local Marshall called Gary Ryan (Giuliano Gemma) living in a small town is falsely accused by nasty enemies : Frank Lloyd (Serge Marquand) and the Mayor Gold (Daniele Vargas) , being wrongly convicted for a murder and forced to flee . Gary is relentlessly pursued by henchmen but he gets rid of his contenders one by one and tries to demonstrate his innocence.

Spaghetti Western is filled with action , thrills , horse riding , brawls and crossfire . This is a decent Spaghetti starred by Giuliano Gemma , a hero wrongly accused who escapes to seek revenge on the men who framed him . This Western is a superior outing because it displays thrills , emotion , shoot'em up , brawls , intrigue , riding pursuits and many other things . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shots or stunts every few minutes . The picture is a tale of justice and revenge with an interesting plot , as a sheriff carries out a hard mission to discover a twisted intrigue about forgery and cattle rustlers . Along the way he is detained , imprisoned , beaten , tortured and later on , he flees and seeks vendetta . The basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare , but what makes this movie stand out is its style . Giuliano steals the show as a merciless revenger , executing thespian skills , bounds and leaps , twists and shooting and throughly enjoys himself . Recently deceased Giuliano Gemma is very fine in his ordinary role as a gunfighter who seeks vengeance against his eternal enemies , Serge Marquand and Daniele Vargas , and their hoodlums . Giuliano Gemma , along with Anthony Steffen and Gianni Garco , resulted to be one of the greatest stars of the Spaghetti genre . Gemma in his beginning worked as a stunt-man , practiced many sports in his life, boxing , gymnastics, such as is well proved at the movie . Then the director, Duccio Tessari, gave him the first role as protagonist in the film " The Titani" and the first spaghetti western films where he often worked under the name of Montgomery Wood , playing Western as ¨A pistol for Ringo¨, ¨The return of Ringo¨ and others as ¨Adios Gringo¨, ¨Arizona Colt¨, ¨The price of power¨ , ¨Day of anger¨ and later ¨California¨. However, his first big opportunity came with the important Italian director, Luchino Visconti in ¨El Gatopardo¨ this was followed by important roles in "Angelica" , ¨Tenebre¨ , ¨Young Lions¨ and ¨The master touch¨. Then he played his most significant roles in ¨Il Deserto Dei Tartari¨ and ¨Il Prefetto Di Ferro¨ . While co-starring German Cobos played a lot of Paella/Chorizo or Tortilla Western filmed in Spain such as : ¨Hombre De La Diligencia¨ by Jose Maria Elorrieta¨, ¨Fuerte Perdido¨, ¨Valor De Cobarde¨ by Leon Klimowsky , ¨Secret of Captain O'Hara¨ by Arturo Ruiz Del Castillo , ¨Blood calls to Blood¨ by Luigi Capuano and ¨Reverendo Colt¨ by Klimowsky ; furthermore , he starred several Peplum and thrillers .

In the movie appears usual Western support actors as Spanish people : Teresa Gimpera , Salvador Arriaga , German Cobos , as well as Italian players : Gia Sandri , Nello Pazzafini , Benito Stefanelli , Spartaco Conversi , Umberto Raho , Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia , Andrea Fantasia , Fortunato Arena and Riccardo Pizzuti who is regular in Terence Hill-Spencer films . The musician Gianni Ferrio composes a nice Spaghetti soundtrack , well conducted and splendid leitmotif ; it's full of enjoyable sounds and emotive score , including catching songs . Atmospheric as well as evocative cinematography by Antonio ¨Tony¨ Secchi who also photographed other Westerns , such as : ¨Bullet for the General¨, "One Silver Dollar" and "The Hills Run Red" ; being shot on location in Lazio Rome , and , of course , Almeria, Spain . In addition , filmed in studios : Cinecittà Studios , Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy . The flick was professionally directed by Giorgo Ferroni , an expert on Peplum . As he directed ¨The war of Troy¨ with Steve Reeves ,¨Hercules against Molock¨ and ¨Il Colosso Di Roma¨ with Gordon Scott . He also directed Western as "Fort Yuma Gold" , "Blood for a Silver Dollar" , Wartime as ¨Battle of El Alamein¨ and Terror in acceptable results as ¨ Mill of the stone woman¨ and "Night of the Devils" .
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7/10
a solid spaghetti western
spider891199 June 2014
It seems you can't go wrong with a Giuliano Gemma movie. This western, like all of the others I have seen him in, is a fine example of the spaghetti western genre.

It has a great score with a haunting title track that recurs at several points in the film. The score leaves no doubt that you are watching a eurowestern from the late 60's, and to me that is a very good thing.

The action scenes are very well done, and they really draw you in. I especially enjoyed the first one, in which Gemma's character and two deputies are in a wagon hauling gold, and they have to fend off an army of about 100 bandits.

This is a very compelling story that holds your interest from start to finish. I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good spaghetti western.
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8/10
A Spaghetti that stands the test of time
aheibe23 April 2006
As a teenager growing up in Somalia, my father brought me to see this movie (Wanted) for a treat. It was an open-air cinema, the Southern Cross was above us and as Padre Carmello gave refuge to Gary Ryan, the moon eclipsed. I was torn between looking at the screen and looking at the sky for I didn't want to miss the actions in the movie and the spectacular phenomenon of the eclipse.

I am now in my late forties and my wife purchased the video from Cinecity in Netherlands on the Internet for my birthday. I couldn't believe my luck at being able to see this great movie again.

The only difference is that this time is in English with Greek subtitles when before I watched it in Italian.

In short, Gary Ryan, the new Sheriff of Greenfield falls for a trap and finds himself locked up under false testimony by Cheryl, the woman who owns the biggest hotel in Greenfield. Eventually he finds a way out to struggle against all odds for justice

The other fascinating things about the movie are the names of the locations such as New Face Rock, Devils Cliff etc, inspired by nature.

Here are some impressive lines: "What I think doesn't mean much unfortunately, proof and testimony are the only languages that the law recognizes" by Judge Anderson of Greenfield "Unreasonably risking your neck is against Gods law" by Padre Carmello. "He could be almost anywhere looking for some place to hide, alone hunted by the law and society-Wanted" by Martin Heywood (the Professional Gambler. "Pray your last, coward" by Fred Lloyd.

Exciting story line, beautiful scenery, good camera works, especially the angles and moreover, the score is not short of Ennio Morricone. I would recommend to any Spaghetti fan.
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8/10
Well-Produced, Smoothly Helmed Spaghetti Western
zardoz-1320 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
"For A Few Extra Dollars" director Giorgio Ferroni's Spaghetti western "Wanted" qualifies as a lively little shoot'em up about a lawman struggling to exonerate himself. "Grand Canyon Massacre" composer Gianni Ferrio furnishes Ferroni with a memorable orchestral western theme, and "A Bullet for the General" lenser Antonio Secchi makes everything appear larger-than-life. The austere Spanish mountains substitute splendidly for their far western counterparts. The artistic widescreen compositions look picture postcard beautiful, and the lighting has a soft-brown leathery look. The producers have made sure that all the sets look authentic. Although this may be a low-budget horse opera, the producers haven't scrimped on set design and production. Basically, this oater looks like a traditional American western about a lawman pitted against an elaborate gang of cattle rustlers. Nobody sports a poncho and collects bounty on men. This was Ferroni's third western, and he doesn't let the action bog down into vast stretches of dialogue. Scenes of hand-to-hand combat are adequately staged and there is a good shoot-out on the trail between an army of Mexican bandits and our heroes in a fleeing wagon. Our hero is a crack shot with a six-shooter, and "Wanted" generates a double-digit body count before its 107 minutes concludes. For the record, Ferroni even shows our hero reloading his revolver on two occasions. The look, the outfits, and the sets mimic American westerns. "Wanted" departs in one crucial respect from American westerns because it contains a surfeit of violence with its high body count. The bullet-riddled victims in gunfights pirouette and fall down with flourish when the lead hits them in the tradition of the Spaghetti western.

Roman actor Giuliano Gemma, who rose to fame on the "Ringo" westerns, does a good job as an innocent but wrongly accused sheriff framed for a murder he didn't commit. No sooner have the opening credits run than a mysterious assassin tries to bushwhack the heroic sheriff. The lawman plays possum until he sees his assassin leave. Sheriff Gary Ryan (Giuliano Gemma of "Day of Anger') interrupts an election controversy in Greenfield when he reports to Mayor Gold (Daniele Vargas), with his credentials as town sheriff. Ryan's appearance thwarts the mayor's plan to make Lloyd the sheriff. Ryan manages to escort a fortune in gold from one town to another. Suddenly, he falls out of favor with the mayor and his cronies. Ryan is accused of gunning down an unarmed man who started an argument with him. An unidentified hombre outside the room shoots the man down. After the authorities take Ryan into custody, Billy Baker (Benito Stefanelli of "Blood for a Silver Dollar") helps Ryan escape by smuggling a revolver into the jail cell. Serge Marquand makes an effective villain out to kill Gemma. Conspiring with him is Mayor Gold (Daniele Vargas of "The Stranger Returns") of Greenfield, Gold and he is thoroughly evil. In one scene, Gold batters a semi-conscious man on his death bed to death. Ryan rides to Mexico to find Jeremiah Prescott. Prescott shows Ryan how the rustling is done. Earlier, Gold has paid Jeremiah to create a brand that would not stand out after the skin was removed. Jeremiah forged modifications to all the neighboring brands so anybody's brand can be compromised. Not long afterward, Lloyd's men kill Jeremiah while his daughter watches in horror. Later, Ryan is captured on the trail by Lloyd and his gunmen. Happily, our hero is cleared when an eyewitness changes her testimony. Lloyd hightails it after this revelation and roughs up Mayor Gold. The villainous Lloyd takes a woman hostage and uses her to escape from Ryan, but she thwarts his plans. At fadeout, the hero and heroine are in each other's arms, and the villain is groveling in a pig pen.

"Wanted" ranks as an above-average Spaghetti western.
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too long, pretty lousy..
mkoskela23 July 2000
Director Giorgio Ferroni did this one at same year as Fort Yuma Gold, I liked this one better, although I think they both are pretty lousy. But there's a nice action-scene in the beginning, which is still not much. Sadly the film is also too long 'bout 100min(75min would be better). There's actually some plot in this one, so fans of the genre(real fans only)might wanna check out, if you just find it.
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Gemma's little gem
dbdumonteil26 October 2014
Giuliano Gemma was par excellence the action film Italian actor.He had plenty of go and French users do remember his part of Nicolas Calembredaine in the "Angélique" saga;but he was also featured in peplums ("I Titani"), exotic adventures ("Sheherazade") and mainly spaghetti westerns,often credited as Montgomery Wood;he became more ambitious in the seventies with such works as Comencini's "Delitto D'Amore" and Zurlini 's "Il Deserto Dei Tartari" .

But a character actor he is not;he is better at other things and he is pretty good (and credible) as a sheriff;the villain is successfully portrayed by French Serge Marquand.The subject is borrowed from too many American westerns of the two precedent decades ,but it's made with care,with a good cinematography using the wide screen tastefully .The screenwriters display a good sense of humor: the priest,scaring the dumb Mexicans (it may pass for racism ) with Jehovah's wrath which will strike them if they don't repent.The blacksmith's trick is really a good idea the cattle thieves could take up.And the "wanted" word ,sung every ten minutes when the hero becomes the wrong man ,is typically European.

This is an action-packed movie,with never a dull moment;it does not mark a milestone in western history,but it's good Entertainment.
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Pretty good spaghetti western
Wizard-88 February 2014
Although "Wanted" is not a classic of its genre - the spaghetti western - it does provide enough good stuff to be a perfectly good example. For starters, there is a good gritty feeling here. There is some good background scenery, for starters. A lot of the movie was obviously filmed during the winter, and the cold, mud, and visible breath of the actors gets to your bones. Actor Giuliano Gemma makes for a good hero, one that you'll hope gets to clear his name by the end. In fact, there are some tense moments that will make you wonder if indeed he'll be able to. And if you are looking for action, this spaghetti western delivers it in spades - lots of gun battles and fist fights are on display.

This is not a perfect spaghetti western. For starters, it's oddly paced. It takes over a half an hour for the protagonist to find himself in his dangerous predicament. And at one hundred minutes in length, the movie is overlong; it could have been cut by ten to fifteen minutes. But if you are a spaghetti western fan like myself, the positive attributes of the movie more than make up for its shortcomings.
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